Safety-catch for vacuum-cleaners.



A. F. KRAUSE.

SAFETY CATCH FOR VACUUM CLEANERS.

APPLICATION FILED use. 2. 19H.

1 200,855 Patented Oct. 10-, 1916.

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A. F. KRAUSE.

SAFETY CATCH FOR VACUUM CLEANERS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 19H.

1,200,855. Patented 00t.10,1916.

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ALBERT F. KRAUSE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, .ASSIGNOR TO HYDRO VACUUM CLEANER COMPANY, OF. BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFETY-CATCH FOR VACUUM-CLEANERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

5 Application filed December 2, 1911. Serial No. 663,501. 1

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT F. KRAUsn, a

into a sewer or other place of discharge by the spent water, but the invention is not confined to this particular use.

One object of my invention is to combine means with the screen for keeping lint, matches and other foreign substances, other than dust, in suspension above the screen during the operation of the apparatus to avoid clogging of the screen and allow the dust to pass through it with the air and to be drained into the sewer.

Another object of my invention is the production of an eflicient and inexpensive device of this character which can be readily emptied from time to time and which shall not affect the suction-power of the cleaner.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of a building equipped with a permanently-installed cleaner embodying the invention. the intercepting device, the plane of the section being on the line 22, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a sectional top plan view of the device. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a slightly modified construction of the device. Fig. 5 is a sectional top plan view of said modification. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation ofthe cover and the screen connected therewith.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates a vacuum producing apparatus of any suitable construction. The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is located in the cellar or basement of the building and comprises a pair of exhaust pumps 2 oper- Fig. 2 is a vertical section of ated by a water motor, not shown, from which leads the discharge pipe 3 for the mixture of water and dust which is usually drained into the sewer.

4 indicates the main or stationary suction pipe connected with the apparatus 1 by a flexible tube 5 and usually extending to the upper floor of the building.

6 indicates one of the suction nozzles and 7 its tube or hose adapted to be detachably connected with one of the improved intercepters or intercepting devices 8 which in turn are connected with or interposed in the main suction pipe 4. In practice one of these intercepters may be located on each floor and that of the uppermost story is preferably attached to the upper end of the suction pipe 4 and'located under an opening in the floor normally closed by a door 9; while each of the intercepters on the re maining floors is located in a partition having a door 10 in its base board which normally conceals the intercepter. A similar intercepter 11 may also be interposed in the connection between the pumps 2 and the main suction pipe 4. As best shown in Fig. 2, each of these intercepters comprises an imperforate casing, receptacle or chamber 12 preferably of cylindrical form provided at its lower end with an outlet or screw stem 13 by which it is connected with the main suction pipe 4, either directly as shown in Fig. 1, in connection with the intercepter of the uppermost story; or by a horizontal branch pipe 14, as shown in connection with the intercepter of the lower story. Removably arranged within this casing is a screen or safety'catch 15' having perforations of the proper size to permit the free passage of the air and dust therethrough, but so small as to intercept lint, pieces of paper, matches and other foreign substances commonly drawn into the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner. This screen is preferably cup-shaped, as shown, and provided at its upper end with an outwardly-extending flange 16 by which it is removably suspended from an internal shoulder 17 of the casing. The screen is perforated in its sides as well as its bottom and is separated from the wall of the casing 12, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit the free passage of the dust-laden air through all portions of the screen.

Applied to the top of the casing is a removable cover 18 which is seated in a rabbet 19 in the upper end of the casing, a packing gasket 20 being preferably interposed between the cover and the flange of the screen to form an air-tight joint. The cover may be secured in place by a clamping yoke'2l or other suitable means.

In the construction shown, the ends of the yoke are turned inwardly under a flange 22 projecting outwardly from the upper end of the casing, and the yoke carries a clamping screw 23 which bears upon a central boss of the cover 18. The latter is thus securely clamped upon the casing and in turn clamps the flanged screen in place in the casing.

As shownin Figs. 2 and 3, thecasing 12 is provided above the screen 15 with an inlet or inlet tube 2st to which the hose 7 of the suction nozzle 6 is suitably attached. This inlet is preferably located in or carried by the cover 18 and is arranged tangentially to the casing, as shown, so that the air, dust, &c., drawn into the casing 12 are caused to whirl or gyrate therein during the operation of the vacuum cleaner. The air and dust pass onward through the screen, the outlet tendency to drive the foreign matters other than the dust, such as lint, paper, &c.,

toward the center of the screen, while the dust moves onward through the screen with the air, thus effecting a separation within the screen of such foreign matters from the dust. Moreover, this whirling action of the dust-laden air current maintainsthe necessary velocity thereof to compensate for the loss of velocity due to the enlargement of the portion of the suction conduit formed by the chamber of the safety catch, thus maintaining the portative power of the air current.

When the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the intercepted accumulations settle into the screen 15 which is emptied from time to time after removing the cover 18. As these accumulations are practically freed from dust by the above described action they are not liable to contain germs, rendering the duty of emptying the screen less objectionable from a sanitary View point than would be the case if no such separation were effected.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3,-the intercepter located on the top floor preferably has its tangential inlet provided with a vertical or upwardly-extending branch 25 to more conveniently receive the hose of the nozzle upon opening the door 9; while the tangential inlet of each of the intercepting devices on the lower floors may be horizontal throughout its length, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

\Vhen the suction nozzles 6 are not in use they. are detached from the casings 8 and the inlets 24 are closed by a suitable valve or plug 26.

The screen is preferably connected with the cover 18 in such manner that it is removable therewith and when removed is sus pended at a suitable distance below the cover to permit the emptying of the screen by usingthe cover as a handle therefor, thus avoiding the necessity of touching the screen itself and rendering the device more sanitary. For this purpose, a depending suspension rod 27 is secured centrally to the cover. This rod passes loosely through an opening in the bottom of the screen and is provided at its lower end with a stop or nut 28 which retains the screen upon the rod. The rodextends some distance below the bottom of the screen in the operative position of the latter, so that upon removing the cover, it is separated a corresponding distance from the top of the screen before being.

lifted out of the casing,.as shown in Fig. 6, thusleaving the necessary space between the cover andthe removed screen for emptying the contents of the latter, which is done by graspingthe cover and tilting it sufficiently for this purpose. By fitting the rod rather loosely in the bottom opening of the screen, the latter tilts on the rod and assumes an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 6, facilitating the discharge of its contents.

My improved intercepting device or safety catch not only furnishes a convenient means of connecting the suction-nozzle conduits to the main suction-pipe 4, but effectively guards against clogging of the suction pumps, their valves and the pipe-system, without impairing the cleaning action of the apparatus.

As before stated, an intercepter similar to the devices shown in Figs; 2 and 5, may be advantageously placed at the junction of the pump inlets and the main suction pipe, as shown in F ig..1.

I claim as my invention:

1. An intercepting device for a vacuum cleaner, comprising a chamber closed at its top and having an inlet and an outlet, a screen arranged .in said chamber between its inlet and outlet and having perforations of the proper size to permit the passageof the dust-laden air therethrough while intercepting lint, paper and other foreign substances, and means for producing a whirling motion of the air current in said chamber on the inlet side of said screen to keep such substances other than dust in suspension in said chamber and prevent their clogging the screen during the operation of the cleaner.

2. An intercepting device for a vacuum cleaning apparatus, comprising a chamber closed at its top and having an outlet and a tangential inlet to produce a whirling motion of the incoming air and hold lint and similar substances in suspension in said chamber, and a screen arranged in said chamber between its inlet and outlet and having perforations large enough to per mit the passage of dust but so small as to intercept lint, paper and other foreign sub stances. V

3. An intercepting device for a vacuum cleaning apparatus, comprising an upright chamber closed at its top by a removable cover and having an outlet at its lower end,

said cover having a tangential inlet for the dust-laden air, and a cup-shaped screen removably arranged in said chamber between said inlet and said outlet and having perforations large enough to permit the passage of dust but so small as to intercept lint, paper and other foreign substances.

4. An intercepting device for a vacuum cleaning apparatus, comprising a chamber having an inlet, an outlet and a removable cover, a screen removably arranged in said chamber between its inlet and outlet and held in place by said cover, and a loose connection between the screen and the cover for withdrawing the screen from said chamber by means of the cover, said connection being constructed. to permit limited movement of the cover relative to the screen to leave an emptying-space between the cover and the screen.

5. An intercepting device for a vacuum cleaning apparatus, comprising a chamber having an inlet, an outlet and a removable cover, a screen removably arranged in said chamber between its inlet and outlet, a suspension rod depending from the cover and passing loosely through the screen, said rod extending normally below the screen and having at its lower end a stop which supports the screen when removed from said chamber.

lVitness my hand this 28th day of November, 1911.

ALBERT F. KRAUSE. WVitnesses:

C. F. GEYER, E. M. GRAHA Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 1,200,855

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,200,855, granted October 10,

1916, upon the application of Albert F. Krause, of Buffalo, New York, for an improvement in Safety-Catches for Vacuum-Cleaners, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 46, claim 5, after the word screen insert the words to slide therein when the cover is removed; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 31st day of October, A. D., 1916.

[SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

C1. 18 3-67. Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

